The S word- Submission

Welcome to “Tuesday Together in the Word.” We are a group of ladies reading through the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs together in 2009, and sharing what we are learning along the way. Visit DeeDee to read other "Tuesday Together in the Word" posts.

This week our reading was from I Peter 2-5; Psalm 38; 2 Peter 1.

1 Peter 3:1 In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives,as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.

I have been part of a wonderful class the last few weeks where we have been reading through a book called the Strong-Willed Wife by Dr. Debbie Cherry. After taking the “Are you a Strong-Willed Wife?” test in the front of the book, the good news is that according to the test I “think and act fast, have strong and passionate opinions, tackle several things at once, and I am a take-charge woman.” The bad news is that it sure makes submission hard!!

This past class we read the following passage from the Strong-Willed Wife book that really hit me square between the eyes:

As much as we strong-willed wives struggle in the very depths of who we are with this submission thing, it all boils down to this: The way we treat our husbands here on earth is a direct reflection of how we are doing spiritually. It is the one and only relationship we have that God is looking at as a mirror image of how we would treat Him if He were standing among us. Each of us knows in our hearts that if Christ were sitting in our living room in the flesh, we would treat Him like the King He is.
But would we?
God has given us the perfect opportunity to show Him how much we love Him. He gave us a husband to love, respect, and submit to just as we would submit to Him if He were sitting beside us. He wants to see our love for Him through the way we love and treat our husbands each day of our lies. He’s using our relationship with our
husband as a measuring stick as to how much we really, truly love Him. Do you love your Savior? Do you really love Him? Do you love Him enough to obey all of His commands to you? Do you love Him enough to be submissive to your husband?

Wow- I have never thought of submission as a way to show my love for the Lord. I pray that I will remember on those days that "I really don't feel like being submissive" it is another way to show love to the Lord. Also, it is helpful to remember that submission is not the dirty word that many women's libbers make it out to be. God has given each of us a unique personality. Submission does not mean denying who you are but it is about using your unique personality that God has given you to honor both your husband and your Lord.

Please join us in our “Tuesday Together in the Word” reading for next week: 2 Peter 3, Psalm 39-41, Proverbs 10, and Galatians 1-3.

Blessing to You,
Kelly